Speech Language Pathology Jobs, Staffing and Clinical Development

Setting Professional Goals for Upcoming Year

Posted on
September 7, 2017 by
Bilingual Therapies

As the school year gets underway, it is important to take time to set your own professional goals for the year. While this may seem unnecessary, it will help you to stay focused and ready to work with your students. Flexibility is important, but it is helpful to have an organized plan on where you would like the year to go if all goes well.

Take some time to check in with families to ensure they understand when sessions will take place, therapy goals, and other crucial information for their children. Approach multilingual families in a way which works best for them. Not all will be comfortable with English, so be sure to translate things for them. In addition to this, talk with students to see what their current interests are.

Be sure to sketch out a general plan with topics to use during sessions if you utilize them with your students. Some possibilities to use with a variety of ages during the next year include the following:

September – Getting to know you, ice breakers, and talks to ease fears of the unknown in the new school year

October – Halloween, pumpkins, autumn, apples, and falling leaves

November – Friendships, special people in your life, being thankful, families, and Thanksgiving

December – Winter, snow, gingerbread people, sledding, and December holidays

January – New Year’s Day, cold days, hot chocolate, and Martin Luther King Day

February – Valentine’s Day, love, and President’s Day,

March – St. Patrick’s Day, spring things, wind, and kites

April – Easter/Passover, rain, and Earth Day,

May – Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, flowers, and Memorial Day

June – Flag Day, Father’s Day, end of the school year, and summer vacation

To finalize additional things which will keep students actively engaged, it is important to use several interest inventories. If it has been at least a year, kids will have changed and may like or dislike new items. Ask students about their favorite movies, video games, television programs, books, and interests. Change them up from year to year so they are not bored filling them out. If you do not have enough time to create your own look on Pinterest for items that you can print for free or purchase at a reasonable price. Encourage creativity in the process and include places for different style learners to write and even draw their replies.

Along with your goals for students, what other goals do you have for your professional career? Start your journey into your next school-based position by check out our latest openings right here!